1st Field Trip

For my first biodiversity field trip, we went to the kent ridge road which is in the NUS area. The road kinda reminds me of Kiara actually, cos its flanked by a secondary forest beside it.

Overall it was quite fun, where we learnt how to differentiate figs, pitcher plants..etc. But i'm not a plant person haha. Plants arent really in my field of interest. I hope that I can quickly finish this biodiversity module and never take anymore plants modules. Bleh.

The Raffles Musuem of Biodiversity Research was kinda interesting tho. There was a display of real fossils, but not much. We saw stuffed animals...dead animals preserved in formalin, and right up front was a display of the replica of a dodo.

For those who dont know wat a dodo is, well you wont have the chance to see it on the streets or forests anymore cos its an extinct bird. It's sort of a mix between a bird and a turkey. And yea, it can't fly.

What hit me in the musuem was that the future generation might not even get the chance to see animals that are common to us. So many species are now at the brink of extinction. One example is the panda bear. Who knows, animals in the future could be defined as stuffed toys that are displayed in museums.

Which reminds me of global warming. And Bird Flu. And who knows SARS might pop up again. To quote my biochem professor who once taught in Harvard and is a member of the WHO : " We're just waiting for the bird flu to clear up the whole world. Those that survives will form the next new generation."

Scary, and might sound satrical to you, but still, there is a possibility of that happening.

So if today was ure last day on Earth, what would you be doing? Would you like what you are spending your time on?

*deep in thought*

ANYWAY. I want to gripe a bit :P Our teaching assistant for the biodiversity field trip was a japanese. So her language wasnt that awesome, and she got some facts wrong too. Who knows after the trip there's a mcq quiz. Thanks to her wrong facts i got 1 out of 5 correct. *stares daggers*

Gram Negative Bacteria.

Many species of this stupid gram -ve bacteria are pathogenic, meaning they can cause disease in a host organism. This pathogenic capability is usually associated with certain components of Gram-negative cell walls, in particular the lipopolysaccharide (also known as LPS or endotoxin) layer.


Well. One of my cute baby terrapins have succumbed after a one month long courageous fight for its life. In the end the stupid bacteria caused more than one disease, including soft shell, swollen eyes, respiratory tract diseases, and skin diseases. You stupid bacteria.

One day im going to devise this drug to penetrate that stupid lipid bilayer membrane of yours and kill all of you off.

My dear darling terrapin, may you rest in peace. I'll always love you.

I really am very super lucky and blessed.

When I asked for a type B room (with sink), there was a space for me in PGPR, one of the residences at the university. Who would know that a girl living opposite me is also in Life Science and doing 3 modules that are the same as mine? Who would predict that we would start going out together for shopping trips and going around campus together? Who would know that I would fit so easily into her group of friends?

:D

Haha. Yay. :D

Dear Friend.

Even though we're so far apart now,

Do you still think of me once in a while?
Are you still reminded of me occasionally?
Do you remember..
How we swam together in kindergarden?
How you wrote a note to me in standard one?
How we converted our pencilboxes into houses in class during primary school?
How we spent every recess together?
The time we spent together on my 12th birthday?
The time I had to go to your house everyday during the early years of secondary school?
The time where we first met?
The time where we first started to talk?
The time you taught me how to play cards?
How I assured you that everything was going to be alright?
The time you came to my house and we had such a blast?
All the movie + other outings together?
How you gave me advice on every little thing?
How you were always there when I needed someone to talk to?
How we held hands?
The nicknames we gave each other?
The firsts?
How you held my hand to comfort me?
The times in tuition?
How we sticked together through thick and thin?
The surprise of meeting each other in random places?
Discovering each other's likes and dislikes?
How we patched things up and started talking again?
All the sports we played together?
All the jokes and bullying?
How you were always there no matter what?
The time we sat down in MPH and read shopaholic novels?
How we went diving together?
How we swapped clothes?
How you encouraged me to pierce my ears?
Listening to my complaints and every other thing?
How we shared songs?

Do you?

Do you still remember me?

Cos I still remember you, all of you, from my childhood friends up till my friends of today.

I cherish all of you. Deep down in my heart you will always be there.

Sometimes we are too caught up in the daily hustle and bustle of life that we take for granted everything that we currently have. Isn't it ironic that some people have to struggle every single minute of the day for survival, perhaps from a deadly disease, whereas some perfectly healthy people curse and swear at every tiny obstacle thrown at them, or a healthy individual ends his life due to some tiny problem currently faced?

It's time we reflect on how lucky we are to be healthy and alive.

Student Exchange Programme?

Does going overseas for one semester broaden your horizons and make you a more intelligent and knowledgeable person?

My observations on friends who went overseas to pursue tertiary studies.
UK: Clubbing + miss home + profs with funny accents
US: miss home
Aus: Miss home

Well. Some friends came back still the same. Some came home wilder. Some were pretty much westernized completely.

Or is it about expanding networks?

So you go there, struggle to settle in for 2 weeks, after 2 weeks of homesick-ness, settle for 3 months, and come back?

And everyone noes i get damn homesick.

Haha. From my tone you can see that I'm not that interested. We shall see. After all im planning to do my masters overseas anyway. And i'm adi in top 20 uni in the world. Professors are great.

What's there to complain?

2007. New start, New course, New University.

*rewinds clock to 16 days ago*

HAPPY 2007!!!!

*Fireworks burst non stop in the night sky*

okay that was lame =p

The first major change for the year 2007 was the change of university and course.

Old: NTU, Bioengineering
New: NUS, Life Science, tentatively Concentration in biomedical science and (?) cell and molecular biology

Yep. I decided that I wasn't the type who loves numbers and can do crazy calculations in my head and stun everyone with immediate answers together with solved complicated equations :D

What's different in NUS: The lecturers and the people. Back in NTU, you get mostly china lecturers who cant reli lecture cos their language is well, not good at all to be frank. Sometimes you even wonder whether they know what they're lecturing. Here at NUS, you get wonderful professors. :D Even those from china are good at what they are teaching, and they are understandable in terms of accent and language. (Hooray!)And back in NTU, you hear singlish and indonesian language everywhere you go. Here, you still get that singlish but not in that overwhelming sense, if you catch my drift. They are LOTS of exchange students here ( a lot of hot ones too XD ) and..campus life is more vibrant here. Definitely.

Oh, and I must eat less and exercise more boohoo. Buses are here to make ure life easy so you dun have to climb slopes and stairs like when I was in NTU.

Food stalls: More good food!! :D Tho I miss the desserts stall in NTU tee hee. The dessert stall here's quite good, but the taste a bit different.

Workload: Ahahahahah. NO MORE ENGINEERING MATHS. *sniggers.

Practicals: SOooo much more interesting. Last thursday i went to the dissection hall and saw and touched cadavers(dead ppl). The medic students peeled off their skins and reli dissected them so you can see all the inner organs. The formalin smell was a bit too much for my nose...and my appetite wavered a bit, but all in all, it was fine.

Room: Hrm. My NTU room was brand spanking new..so its like bit downgraded. But upgraded to a single room instead of a double room. After cleaning up and putting in some design to my room, I love it! :)

Proximity to city: NUS is so much closer to the city! :) Instead of a 1 hour and half journey..It's only around 40 min!


Time to go for class. Toodles.

Dead blog =p

I am so lazy to update this blog =p

For those blur ones, I changed uni and course adi :D

wahaha.

Till then, watch this space for updates :P When I get the mood XD

Love at first sight

Yesterday I saw this tiny baby terrapin in Hartamas square.

I went back thinking bout it. I thought about it before i slept. I couldnt stop thinking bout it.

Say hello to my new darling baby :)

*hearts my baby terrapin*

I'm going to give you the best. Gonna shower you with max love and care.

Miss you Jia Xin!

If you're back gimme a ring? I'm using the same maxis number :)

Depressed

I had such great expectations of this holiday.

I looked forward to it so much. I missed everything and everyone so much when I was in Singapore.

Now that I'm back, well yea I've met up with a FEW friends..out of many which i initially wanted to meet and spend not only a few hours, but maybe a few days with.

Oh well. I guess everyone's just caught up in their own lives and business nowadays, and I wouldnt want to be the 3rd person or 4th person and become the lamp post.

I think that's one of my problems, I look forward to things too much and think that it'll be so great when the time comes but when the time actually comes it aint that wonderful and great after all.

Hmm.

So i guess i'll just bum around till some people ask me out. Heh.

Not exactly my idea of a wonderful holiday. Not exactly what I initially had in mind.

I guess everyone moves on after all.

Choc Chip Cookies!

Fresh from the oven ^^ Free smells,anyone? =p

Terrapins aka green turtles concerns

It has come to my notice that more and more pet shops are selling baby green turtles. However, if you look around for proper nutrition for these cute animals, you don't see much being sold at pet shops that are specially formulated for baby terrapins.

I need sulfa blocks. But I can't get them here. I have to be in the States to save my terrapins from a slight fungus problem. Does it mean that all the green turtles here are supposedly fated to be treated less luxuriously compared to the terrapins being reared in the states?

For those who, like me, love your baby green turtles or terrapins, here's a good health sheet i dug out over the net. If i had this health sheet with me since 10 years ago, I would have saved lots of terrapins' lives and not watch them die helplessly.

http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/turhealth.htm#shell

Furthermore, look at the vets here. All they care about is Dogs and Cats. What bout the other pets?! the last time i brought a baby terrapin to see a vet, she gave it an injection at the back leg and then it died cos of pain. Excuse me, ure a vet, ure supposed to know what to do, what dosage to give to make the pet HEAL. not to send it to terrapin heaven.

And if you read that health sheet, ure supposed to give a vitamin injection 10 days consecutively at the FRONT leg.

Those in charge of pet shops should import in more vital health stuff for terrapins since u can find them being sold everywhere now.

I need sulfa blocks, as shown here *click* http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=6410&N=2006+113626

Chinstrap penguins waddle atop blue icebergs that—along with an unforgiving sea—guard the South Sandwich Islands.

OMG. I'm in love with penguins :) If you havent watched march of the penguins, go watch now! It's a documentary, very beautifully filmed. I'm going to watch happy feet soon too! Damn cute :)

2 days ago i saw this documentary on nat geo about dolphins..slaughtering. In Japan. Not that I want to evoke any international feud or anything, but..damn you fishermans in japan and all around the world who are slaughtering these beautiful intelligent animals in cold blood. Especially those in Taiji. I hope you burn in hell.

You know how they slaughter them?? They first surround the pack of dolphins, to a shallow place offshore, and then LEAVE THEM THERE with no food for a few days. Bloody hell. Till all the dolphins pack up together in panic, and a pilot dolphin, which is d leader of d group circle around the pack of panicked and stressed dolphins to guard them. How heroic is that? *stares daggers at the murderers*

Then the stupid fishermen come in their boats, then they...slit the throats of d weak dolphins. wat the hell. When you slit the throat, or before, the dolphin tears. Stupid cold blooded heartless murderers. *wrings fists*

Dolphins are damn intelligent. They're damn cute man. super smart. Seelah next time im goin to work for this group against dolphins killing..or killer whales. bah.

Choc Chip Cookies! XD

I baked yesterday =D Will post up some pics of my cookies soon :P *beams*

Baking's time consuming..but the end result is so worth the time :D

*munches on cookies*

Yummy.

Pace to slow for 'Foxtrot' comic strip...bleh.

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 8, 2006


FoxTrot, the popular comic strip that runs in more than 1,000 newspapers, including the St. Petersburg Times, will end daily production Dec. 30. Bill Amend, who created FoxTrot in 1988, will continue to write and draw a Sunday strip. "After spending close to half of my life writing and drawing FoxTrot cartoons, I think it's time I got out of the house and tried some new things," he said in a statement reported by the Houston Chronicle. "I love cartooning, and I absolutely want to continue doing the strip, just not at the current all-consuming pace." Mike Wilson, Times assistant managing editor/newsfeatures, said Thursday that the paper wasn't sure whether it would continue to run FoxTrot on Sunday or how the comic would be replaced in the daily paper. "Over the next couple of weeks, we'll look at some of the new comics on the market," Wilson said. "There are some terrific strips out there. We'll show some of the best ones to readers and ask them what they like."

Oh well. At least there's still Sunday strips.

I'm back.

Haha! I love my homeland. There's this familiar and homely feeling that you only get here in Msia =) Everything that's so dear to me is all here...I've missed everything so much. Everything; my terrapins, my home, the trees outside my room, the slopes, the hills, the greenery, the driving, the night markets, the life, oh how I've missed the LIFE. :D

There's no place like home. There's no place i'd rather be rather than here now :P To heck with greener pastures at other countries.

To a few of my friends, i'd like to dedicate avril's latest song to you..KEEP HOLDING ON.

You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side
You know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No, I won't give in

Keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Just stay strong
Cause you know I'm here for you
I'm here for you
There's nothing you can say
Nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So, keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through

So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late
This could all disappear
Before the door's closed
And it comes to an end
With you by my side
I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend, yeah, yeah

Keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Just stay strong
Cause you know I'm here for you
I'm here for you
There's nothing you can say
Nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So, keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through

Hear me when I say
When I say I believe.
Nothing's gonna change
Nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be
Will work out perfectly

Keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through
Just stay strong
Cause you know I'm here for you
I'm here for you
There's nothing you can say
Nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So, keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through

Keep holding on
Keep holding on
There's nothing you can say
Nothing you can do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So, keep holding on
Cause you know we'll make it through
We'll make it through

Love each and every one of you to bits.

Avril Lavigne's new song - Keep Holding On

I love the 4400.
Apart from the never-ending twists...non stop drama and action..there's also..






XD

Home!

I'm going home in 2 days time..tralalalala *hums*

I can't wait to go to night markets again.

To eat food, glorious yummy food :D

To go swimming.

To go to a nice white sandy pretty lovely beach (anyone gonna take me? =p)

To relax at home and watch tv and rot my brain.

To read foxtrot non stop.

To watch the 4400 season 4..next year. =p

To eat.

eat, eat, eat.

I think i'm goin to get fat this hols. XD